MOSCOW — Russian police and security agents have detained 140 people at a mosque in Moscow on suspicion of involvement with Islamic extremism.A statement from the Federal Security Agency reported by Russian news agencies said among those detained in the Friday action were 30 citizens of unspecified foreign countries.The detentions come a week after the two suspects in the fatal Boston Marathon bombing were identified as originating from the Russian region of Chechnya and sympathizing with Islamic extremists.

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

The new logo for the University of Connecticut’s sports teams is a terrifying husky dog that calls to mind images of sexual assault, says one student. The new logo was unveiled last week, receiving mixed-to-negative reviews from UConn fans who preferred the older, cuter husky dog. But one student went much further, criticizing the new, meaner logo for being a pro-rape symbol. Ads by GoogleIn an open letter to UC President Susan Herbst, self-described feminist student Carolyn Luby wrote that the redesigned team logo will intimidate women and empower rape culture. UConn basketball coach Geno Auriemma said the logo “is...

The mother of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects was added to a federal terrorism database about 18 months before the attack, government officials said Thursday. Two government officials said the CIA had Zubeidat Tsarnaeva’s name listed along with that of her son Tamerlan Tsarnaev after Russia contacted the agency in 2011 with concerns that the two were religious militants about to travel to Russia. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case. Being in the classified TIDE database does not automatically mean a person is suspected by the U.S. of...

During Thursday night’s episode of The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News, Glenn Beck discussed TheBlaze’s investigation into the government’s curious handling of the Saudi national who was questioned in the hospital after the Boston Marathon bombings. The two former Fox colleagues talked about the possible reasons for DHS detaining the Saudi man and O’Reilly said he’s willing to give Beck “a hearing.”

The controversial plan for a mosque and Islamic cultural center at Ground Zero may be scrapped and the property instead turned into residences. Sharif El-Gamal, the developer behind the stalled project, is in talks about turning the property at 43 Park Place in lower Manhattan into condominiums, reports the New York Post. …

Former Rep. Todd Akin said he regrets the comments he made about “legitimate rape” which derailed his Missouri bid for U.S. Senate last year. In an interview with KDSK-TV on Thursday, the 65-year-old was asked whether he would take back the controversial comments. “Of course I would,” the former congressman replied. “I’ve relived them too many times. But that is not reality.” …

As the Herald reported earlier this week, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev received benefits as children, when their parents, Anzor and Zubeidat Tsarnaev, were beneficiaries. The Tsarnaev parents received food stamps, which are federally funded, from October 2002 to November 2004, and then from August 2009 to December 2011, the letter said. Anzor Tsarnaev also received money through the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, a state and federally funded program which provides cash assistance to families with children and pregnant women, from January 2003 to March 2003, and again from August 2009 to June 2010. Tamerlan’s wife, Katherine...

President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that, “to our great regret,” Russian security services lacked any operative information on the Tsarnaev brothers that they could have shared with their American counterparts. Russian officials had raised concerns about Tamerlan Tsarnaev with the FBI in 2011 and later that year also with the CIA. But analysts here doubt that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) was warning the Americans; more likely, they say, it was acting out of worry that Tsarnaev might join an underground group in the strife-torn Russian region of Dagestan during a visit there. The FSB did not respond when the...

For decades the conflict between Israel and the Arabs has remained unresolved. Time and again efforts have been made to find a solution and bring peace between the two sides. … The nagging issue affecting a long sought comprehensive breakthrough is the possibility of a Palestinian state. In order to facilitate this both sides have to be committed to live in peaceful coexistence with each other. While Israel has made it clear it deeply desires peace with all its neighbors, including the Palestinians, can the same be said of the Palestinians? … A recently released video produced by the Center...

Whatâ€™s it like to live and pray in an officially atheist state? CNS has a fascinating interview with Maria Dhimitri, who lived that way in Albania: â€śThey said God didnâ€™t exist. I couldnâ€™t come to church or pray or speak of God at all,â€ť she said of the communist regime that came to power in her country soon after World War II. The regime made worshipping increasingly difficult and finally imposed a ban on religion in the country in 1967, making Albania the first and only constitutionally atheist state.Dhimitri was teaching piano at one of the countryâ€™s top conservatories for...

Democrat officials convicted of making up names for qualifying petition" Two Democrats in Indiana have been found guilty of submitting unauthorized names on the petition that placed then-Sen. Barack Obama on the 2008 presidential election primary ballot, meaning he likely did not qualify. Some of the issues that were uncovered: •Seventy-five GOP vote inspectors were ordered to leave Philadelphia poll locations by Democrat poll judges. One judge was caught on audio. A court order sent them back but it’s unknown what happened when they were gone. These poll locations were all within the 59 precincts where Romney received no votes....

Even if as we speak American aircraft are preparing to attack the nuclear facilities in Iran, and even if as we speak American Tomahawk missiles are searching for the chemical weapon storage facilities in Syria, the truth should not be concealed: In this war, we are (almost) on our own. America will only go to war for its own interests. In the current atmosphere in the United States, as it is withdrawing from its current wars, Washington will not go to war for Jerusalem. …

MANDEVILLE — This is the weekend Michael Mauti has been looking forward to since he first put on a football uniform — maybe even before. And if it’s happening a year, maybe two, later than the former Penn State linebacker figured, well, life seldom goes as planned, especially considering the turmoil surrounding the Nittany Lions in the past two seasons. “You can’t always control what happens to you,” said Mauti, who’ll be watching this week’s NFL draft with his family in Mandeville — including his father, ex-Saints receiver Rich Mauti. “And it’s been a roller coaster for me. I’m hoping...

Homeland Insecurity: The New York Times thinks the Boston bombers "self-radicalized" on the Web. But it didn't look at their mosque, which has churned out other terrorists, too. USA Today, on the other hand, did look at their mosque — the Islamic Society of Boston — and found "a curriculum that radicalizes people," according to a local source quoted in the paper's investigation. "Other people have been radicalized there." In fact, several ISB members and leaders have been convicted or suspected of terrorism, including: (snipped) Abdurahman ,Alamoudi,Aafia Siddiqui, Ahmad Abousamra, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Jamal Badawi, and The Tsarnaev brothers,

"No," said White House press secretary Jay Carney, Syrian President Bashar Assad should not doubt how serious the United States is about responding to evidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against its own people - but Carney added that we need to "build on" that evidence to be certain and would not provide a timetable for that investigation.

Our nation is going broke, and now is not the time to increase burdens on American families.The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744)Â—commonly called the â€śGang of Eight billâ€ť after the eight Senators who came up with it, Charles Schumer (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), John McCain (R-AZ), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC)Â—includes amnesty for some 11 million unlawful immigrants. That amnesty would further burden taxpayers and weaken our fiscal situation. Congress should not rush to pass the bill without understanding the cost to the American...

Shortly after Barack Obama was elected in 2008, a fellow reporter who’d covered President George W. Bush all eight years told me she’d had enough of the travel and stress and strain of the White House beat, that she was moving on.Just before we said our goodbyes, I asked her if she’d miss covering President Obama. “Not at all. He’s an inch deep. Bush is a bottomless chasm, a deep, mysterious, emotional, profound man. Obama is all surface — shallow, obvious, robotic, and, frankly, not nearly as smart as he thinks. Bush was the one.” Her words, so succinct, have...

According to The Weekly Standard, authorities are still investigating how much Tamerlan Tsarnaev's wife knew about the Boston bombings. The report states that law enforcement officials now believe 24-year-old Katherine Russell Tsarnaeva called Tamerlan to let him know the FBI was looking for him after she saw his photos on the news. Though officials believe Tsarnaev was already aware, he and his younger brother went on the run a short time later, culminating in his death and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's arrest. Investigators were told of the alleged phone call by Dzhokhar in his interrogation before he was read his Miranda rights.

Former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill will be featured on a British banknote set to begin circulation in 2016, the Bank of England said. A portrait of Churchill, adapted from a Dec. 30, 1941, photograph taken by Yousuf Karsh, and his famous declaration "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" will be featured on the five-pound banknote, the BBC reported Friday. Churchill will replace social reformer Elizabeth Fry on the banknote. Bank of England Gov. Sir Mervyn King announced the new banknote from Churchill's former home of Chartwell, in Westerham, Kent. "Our banknotes acknowledge the...

Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah-3rd District) had serious questions for DHS representatives on Thursday. Fox News reports: Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security is using roughly 1,000 rounds of ammunition more per person than the U.S. Army, as he and other lawmakers sharply questioned DHS officials on their “massive” bullet buys. “It is entirely … inexplicable why the Department of Homeland Security needs so much ammunition,” Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at a hearing. The hearing itself was unusual, as questions about the department’s ammunition purchases until recently had bubbled largely under the radar — on blogs and...

full title.......Parents of Boston bombing suspects have 'fled their home in Russia' as mother claims she called an ambulance for her husband - and he is no longer planning to visit the U.S.The parents of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects have left their home in Dagestan for another part of Russia and the suspect's father is no longer planning to fly to the U.S. later this week to bury his eldest son and cooperate with the FBI investigation into the attacks. The suspects' mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaev, told CNN that that her husband, Anzor Tsarnaev, is indefinitely delaying his trip to...

It’s not exactly news that Canada ranks among the world's top five energy producers. Currently, it is the third largest gas producer and holds the third-largest proven oil reserves. What is new, however, is that Canada for the first time last year became the top destination for Chinese investments abroad, beating out its southern neighbor, the US, the world’s biggest economy. While Chinese firms spent more than $20 billion in Canada—almost all of it in the energy sector—the US received just more than $10 billion, according to finance data specialist Dealogic. … In contrast to Canada’s traditional stance of openness...

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today posted this Status Update on Facebook: There’s no such thing as a coincidence. Today I’m looking forward to speaking at a pro-life women’s resource center in Nevada. I intend again to remind women that we are strong enough and capable enough to choose life and work together to create a culture that empowers everyone to live to the fullest. How ironic that on this same day President Obama will be headlining a gala event for the highly controversial and repeatedly discredited organization Planned Parenthood. He’s the first sitting president to speak to them, but...

It’s getting difficult to keep up with the Boston Marathon bombing case without a scorecard. A week ago, the media reported that the FBI received one warning about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but found nothing of concern at the time in 2011. Next we discovered that Russia issued multiple warnings to the US about Tamerlan, and this morning that the Joint Terrorism Task Force got alerted to the return of a “suspected militant” on his return — a warning that went nowhere. Now CNN also reports that Tamerlan wasn’t the only Tsarnaev on Russia’s radar, and that the CIA had added his...

Massachusetts Democratic governor doesn't want public records released about (Tamerlan) Tsarnaev's welfare habit...because of a right to privacy?!?Here's a newsflash Governor Patrick:1. if access to public money is suddenly a private matter then we know Tsarnaev was collecting welfare.2. Don't ever play poker.Like the title says, the welfare state liberals have created boils down to three words...

Today would be a great day to support the resistance! [FReepathon thread XXIII] Click here to pledge your support via secure server! ^ | April 26, 2013 | Jim Robinson Posted on 04/25/2013 10:35:10 AM PDT by Jim Robinson Dear FReepers, FRiends, Countrymen and Patriots: We need your support to keep FR strong, keep America strong, to resist tyranny!! We need FR now more than ever. Obama's Marxist/Islamofascist regime is in a mad rush to destroy the final remnants of our constitution and our traditional American way of life. We love America. We love our constitution. We cherish our...

Today, the New York Times ran a front page article that is the best, most in-depth coverage of the Pigford story by the mainstream media to date. Oh, how things have changed. Just three years ago, in February 2010, the New York Times published an editorial entitled "Pay Up" that towed the pro-Pigford line. The blunt headline summed up the aggressive position that the pro-Pigford advocates were taking. As the Times said then: After the settlement, some farmers got their money, but far too many ran into a new buzz saw. They were stalled and rejected through paperwork technicalities, tight...

Both Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were UMass Dartmouth students originally from Kazakhstan. Terror suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev would hang out at the their New Bedford, Mass. apartment frequently and may have stayed with them on the night of the bombing and the following night. The friends raised hackles by cruising around a BMW with a "TERRORISTA #1” vanity plate, one of their fathers confirmed.

Community colleges in Michigan would be able to expand the programs in which they can offer four-year degrees, including nursing, if a bill that has been introduced by State Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, is passed. House Bill 4148 allows colleges to offer bachelor degrees in nursing, wastewater treatment technology, allied health, ski area management, information technology and manufacturing technology. The key to the legislation is nursing, said Mike Hansen, president of the Michigan Community College Association. Hansen said that a bill passed last year allowed community colleges to offer degrees in four programs, but nursing was dropped. Hansen said all...

After more than 18 hours of gunfights and door-to-door searches, the Boston Police Department and its partners in the greater metropolitan area were prepared for anything when they finally caught up with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. According to the Washington Post and the Associated Press, however, the same couldn’t be said for Tsarnaev. Despite initial reports of a firefight and possibly a suicide attempt, police now acknowledge that the younger terrorist was unarmed when they finally discovered him hiding in a boat in Watertown: Although police feared he was heavily armed, the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing had no firearms when he came...

I am an informant and all I can tell you is that Talibans are walking freely right here in the soil of America right now, right now.” That’s the haunting worry of South Floridian David Mahmood Siddiqui. He was the confidential FBI informant who has a rare view of of trying to infiltrate a largely secreted world of what the U.S. government considers terrorist sympathizers. Asked by Gillen what he thinks the risk of having Taliban living in America is, he responded; “They can commit a jihad at any time, they hate America, you have an enemy living here in...

Successful Catholic schools could be enlisted to act as “sponsors” to help run community primaries and secondaries in difficult circumstances, it was revealed. The move would reverse an existing policy that prevents Catholic schools striking up federations with non-religious counterparts as part of the Government’s academies programme. It comes two years after the Church of England embarked on a similar path which has resulted in a number of secular schools adopting a faith “ethos” under Anglican control.

Quick run down on budget management in the federal government: 1. Prior to the start of the year, you made a budget request 10% higher than last year's budget 2. At the beginning of the fiscal year you are given a budget target to spend for the year 3. During the year, if you are running short due to demand you put in requests for supplemental funds 4. As you approach the end of the year, if it appears you are going to still have money left. You have to spend it, you look for items that aren't perishable and...

PARIS (Reuters) - Germany's top labor court ruled on Thursday the country's Catholic charity network had the right to fire an employee who quit the Church in protest against the sexual abuse crisis and disputed decisions by ex-Pope Benedict. The 60-year-old teacher, challenging his 2011 dismissal, had claimed his constitutional right to freedom of opinion trumped the Church's right to employ only Catholics who agreed with the religious mission of their jobs. He said that his work at Caritas Germany tutoring grade-school children did not deal with religion and that pupils of all faiths were welcome there. The decision was...

For two years, the West has been trying to convince the international community that terrorists in Syria are not terrorists but fighters for freedom and democracy. Governments of the United States, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have been helping the rebels to conduct military operations against the Assad regime with no results. This made the West fight with Assad through economic methods. For two years, the West has been trying to convince the world that that black is white, and terrorists in Syria are not terrorists but instead are fighters for freedom and democracy. For the past couple of...

Butler is the star of the 2011 action film 'Machine Gun Preacher,' which features a drug dealing biker character that finds God and goes to Africa to do missionary work. After African war lords attack his camp, the character turns to automatic rifles such as an AK-47 to defeat them.

... Offering free breakfasts to all interested students in low-income areas, not just to those who qualify under federal guidelines, is a program that some state legislators are trying to expand to schools in poor neighborhoods across Texas. Senate Bill 376, written by Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., Democrat of Brownsville, would require schools to offer free breakfast to all students at public schools where 80 percent or more of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals. “As one of 10 kids growing up in Brownsville many years ago, I understand the struggles that parents go through to maintain...

The pending Senate immigration bill would bring a minimum of 33 million people into the country during its first decade of operation, according to an analysis by NumbersUSA, a group that wants to slow the current immigration rate. By 2024, the inflow would include an estimated 9.2 million illegal immigrants, plus 2.5 million illegals who arrived as children — dubbed ‘Dreamers’ — plus roughly 3.4 million company-sponsored employees with university degrees, said the unreleased analysis. The majority of the inflow, or roughly 17 million people, would consist of family members of illegals, recent immigrants and of company-sponsored workers, according to...

As the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is set to welcome former Times newspaper editor James Harding as its new director of current affairs, Jews in the United Kingdom are likely to be hopeful that the broadcaster is more friendly to Israel in its news coverage after a report found that nearly four out of five Jews believe the network is biased against the Jewish state. … The report, based on an online poll by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, found that even though most Jews believe the BBC doesn’t support Israel enough, they still watch it anyway, with 88%...

CHRIS MATTHEWS: We watched this gory hanging, this absurd hanging, of Saddam Hussein, while these thugs went about this thing on television. We watched this, on our watch. It happened because of us, we gave them the power to do this to the guy. .... I think it’s very dangerous. ...... I’m always suspicious of foreign involvement. Nine out of ten times I say the best move is to let them solve their own problems in the end, as horrible as that may be. As long as Syrians are fighting Syrians that’s better than us fighting Syrians. And by the...

http://www.timesofisrael.com/for-first-time-us-academic-group-boycotts-israel/ For first time, US academic group boycotts Israel In unanimous vote, Association for Asian American Studies slams professors for being ‘deeply complicit’ in Israeli crimes By Raphael Ahren April 25, 2013, 11:36 pm 22 The Association for Asian American Studies decided to boycott Israeli academic institutions, reportedly becoming the first US academic institution to do so. At its annual conference in Seattle last week, the group’s general membership unanimously voted in favor of a resolution that accuses Israeli universities of supporting the occupation and systematic discrimination against Palestinian students, among other charges. “Whereas the Association for Asian American Studies...

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK-3) today introduced in their respective chambers the Ammunition Management for More Obtainability (AMMO) Act of 2013. [snip] "President Obama has been adamant about curbing law-abiding Americans’ access and opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights," said Inhofe. "One way the Obama Administration is able to do this is by limiting what’s available in the market with federal agencies purchasing unnecessary stockpiles of ammunition. As the public learned in a House committee hearing this week, the Department of Homeland Security has two years worth of ammo on hand and allots nearly...

Heavy use of the world’s most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson’s, infertility and cancers, according to a new study. The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of “glyphosate,” the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food. Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie...